Fight or Flight
by xlyouko
Summary: Sakura was at a loss. She was determined to do anything but throw her hands up in the air and just admit to Sasuke that his brother was an absolute prick. Except that was exactly what Shisui was banking on, and it was bad enough that him and Itachi were already making her life a living hell. She wasn't going to give him bragging rights as well. AU
1. Chapter 1 - Tuesday

It had started as a standard Tuesday, and if Sakura was to be absolutely honest, she hated Tuesdays. They always started the same, a broken recording of last moment coffee shop stops, already twenty minutes late to whichever venture she had that morning. Today, it was lab time at the hospital, and honestly, even if she did manage to make it there with coffee and muffins, Tsunade would probably kill her.

Right about now, Tsunade would be beginning her rounds in the upper levels of the hospital. A path that usually meant yelling at orderlies not doing their jobs, and seeing to the more complex wounded within the hospital. Normally, Sakura would be just far enough away not to get underfoot, and scribbling in a notebook furiously, or scouring the library, on a search for some obscure medical reference that her mentor had mentioned, trying to take it all to heart.

Instead, on the same day she was supposed to spend with Shizune in the lab, breaking down various blood samples and mixing antidotes, she was late. Sakura had a carrier for three coffees in one hand, and a box of blueberry muffins balanced in the other. The phone in her back pocket wouldn't stop vibrating, and she was doing her best to ignore it and just make it into the office.

After a quick nod and smile to Lee for holding open the door, Sakura swept into the room with all the grace of a drunken squirrel, almost losing a shoe in the process.

"There's a step there."

"Yes, very observant, Uchiha." She nodded to Shisui, and approached the front desk. Sakura pretended not to notice that Shisui abandoned his initial direction to loop back around.

"It's my job." He shrugged. "And you-"

"Incredibly late," Sakura forced a smile. "And will be dead if there are any more delays. This coffee is already almost cold."

"Well then it's a good thing you're finally here." Tsunade barked. "And Uchiha, when I said go home, I meant it. Out."

"Yes ma'am." Shisui nodded, and turned right back for the door. Sakura ignored him, and instead offered coffee and muffins to her vengeful boss. From the looks of the fresh set of scrubs only an hour into her shift, Tsunade looked worse for the wear. It would be a long day.

She accepted the coffee gratefully, and passed the muffins along to several battered looking interns.

"Shizune is waiting in the lab."

"Early morning?" Sakura asked, following her mentor.

"Late night." The blond admitted, making a face. "Boarder patrol brought some friends home. Did you bother putting cream into this?"

"Sensei, you never put cream in your coffee."

"Fair enough." Tsunade shrugged, and sipped the coffee again. She punched a code into the nearest key pad, and slid her card before the doors in front of them hissed open. From there, it was a short walk to the desk that Shizune was pretending not to be asleep at.

Tsunade kicked at her chair, and the woman groaned. "No."

"Good morning, Shizune-san." Sakura greeted, holding the coffee out in front of her.

"You should have brought muffins," she mumbled, taking a deep breath. "But coffee works."

"Alright, coffee and pleasantries over. We have a bunch of patients to deal with." Tsunade barked, and from there, they began.

It was a couple hours later when Sakura began trying to ignore the fact that all she'd been able to have up to that point was a medium coffee with more cream and sugar than actual coffee. They'd taken a rare break, in between running blood panels, where Tsunade had taken to screaming at a nurse to update the goddamned chart in front of them, and that they were not, in fact, a candy store. Sakura took a moment to glance at her phone, only to see fifteen unopened text messages and two voice mails.

All from Naruto and Sasuke, with the exception of a text from some unknown number.

Wonderful, really.

Sakura clicked through them quickly, trying to guess the time it would take for the nurse on the other side of the glass to start panicking. Honestly, Sakura had to agree with her mentor. If the girl had spent a little less time flirting with the patient, and a little more time reading his chart, maybe she wouldn't have almost killed him via overdose. It was really one of those days.

From what Sakura could tell, Naruto was trying his hand at dog sitting again. This venture apparently required selfies of with both the dog, and a pissed off Sasuke in the background. Sakura decided it really couldn't be that bad if Sasuke was involved.

Sakura quickly retracted the thought only moments later, when she opened the next picture message -from Sasuke. From the looks of it, there was a newly broken front window at the Uchiha's family home, and Sakura could vaguely make out dog prints all over what looked to be Sasuke's brother's car.

She sighed, and hit next. The next message was a warning that they had been kicked out of the family home by the wait staff, and they were headed to her apartment, and that hopefully Sakura still kept her spare key horribly hidden under the random brick on the walkway. She snorted, and shot off a vaguely threatening response before shutting her phone off.

If Sakura was to be a doctor, eventually- and she was going to be, regardless of whatever Sasuke's stupid brother had to say on the matter, shadowing Tsunade was incredibly important. After all, Tsunade was without a doubt the best doctor in their part of the world, and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. She would not let her boys, or other outside forces, jeopardize her future. Sakura scribbled down another page or so worth of notes, and hoped to whatever god was listening that she'd be able to read enough of her notes later to transcribe them successfully.

Tsunade dismissed her at 4pm on the dot, when the hospital became far too busy for someone without expansive clinical experience to be underfoot. Sakura didn't like how Tsunade put it, but one look at how far into her schooling she was, Sakura had no choice but to agree. Landing the internship had been a godsend caked in blood, sweat and tears, but that didn't mean that the work was over yet.

Instead, Sakura borrowed a large volume on infectious diseases from her mentor, and headed home with the intention of studying her ass off. She had completely forgotten her boys' intent from earlier, or that they had probably been inside her apartment, unsupervised, with a dog. Sakura hadn't even turned her phone back on, and probably would have written off the entire train of thought if, and only if, she hadn't come across a lamp that looked eerily familiar.

Sakura pushed one of the shards on the sidewalk with her foot. It was definitely ceramic, and definitely the remains of a lamp. She could have sworn she had the exact same one in her living room. She looked up and was greeted with the sight of curtains, waving out of her second story apartment window.

She looked back down to the ground. That was her lamp. The same lamp that should have been next to her television. One that her mother had picked out. Sakura was going to kill them. They were dead, and she would sleep soundly tonight about it, too, her future career be damned.

Sakura stomped up the three flights of stairs between her, and her home, hell-bent on giving her childhood friends a piece of her mind. She found her front door wide open, and just stepping inside only added to her temper. Her apartment was completely destroyed. Bookcases knocked over, books and collectibles all over the floor. Her couch was on it's side, with Sasuke casually leaning against her. He didn't see her at first, but paled considerably when she finally came into his line of sight.

"Sakura-"

"Where. Is. Naruto." She bit out, fuming. Sasuke took a step back, and pointed to her bedroom silently. Sakura gave him a dirty look, and stomped towards her bedroom, muttering the names of organs neither of them needed to survive. Hell, she could pay off her college tuition with them, all the way up to a doctorate.

Lucky for them, her bedroom was mainly intact. The only discrepancy was her dresser. It had been overturned, but the drawers were all pretty much there. She pushed her knee against the bottom ones as she righted it, and then tossed her bag and borrowed book on top. Once that had been completed, Sakura moved to investigate the noise coming from the bathroom.

There, she found Naruto stripped down to his shorts, attempting to bath a fairly large dog, with her $15 shampoo. It was the final straw.

"Teme, what are you doing-" Naruto looked up as the water was turned off, and his eyes became the size of dinner plates.

"Naruto." She asked, sweetly. Naruto backed up, fight or flight response activated. Unfortunately, the tiny shower stall didn't hold many options for running, especially with a large dog occupying more than half the space. "Why do you have a dog in my shower?"

"Well," He scratched his head. "Sasuke and Itachi were stuck having tea with their mother and Shisui when I got there-"

"It devolved from there." Sasuke summarized, holding onto what appeared to be a leash. "The dog is Shisui's. He bet Naruto a week's worth of ramen that Naruto couldn't take care of ti for twelve hours."

Ramen, of course. It was one of the major food groups in Naruto's diet, and an easy access way to getting the blond to do whatever task imagined. It was kind of a low blow on Shisui's part, after all, but it was effective. Sakura grabbed the leash from Sasuke, roughly. The dog, a long-haired shepherd of some sort, seemed to recognized the thing and shook the water off his coat before sitting down in front of the pink haired girl. Now thoroughly drenched, along with almost everything in her overcrowded bathroom, she clipped the leach to the dog's collar and headed for the front door.

"H-hey! Where are you going?!" Naruto yelled, slipping on the wet tile. There was a bang. Sakura did not turn back to investigate.

"To return the dog." She yelled back. "You two have until I get back to fix my apartment." She left the threat implied, and headed south, towards the Uchiha compound. After being friends with Sasuke for more years than she cared to count, Sakura finally had a reason to appreciate that the majority of his family lived on the same compound. The best part of all: she only seemed to have to follow the dog, who almost knew it was going home.

By the time Sakura had passed the Uchiha Senbei shop, she had mostly dried. She weaved her way through a couple more side streets before coming to stop in front of a stranger's door. It had been almost twenty minutes since she had left her home on the other side of town, and Sakura was knocking on a stranger's door only three doors down from Sasuke's parents' home. Honestly, if she didn't have a textbook to read, and several upcoming exams to study for, she may have dropped by. Maybe. Sasuke's mother was a nice lady, after all.

However, the man who opened the door was not. Itachi stared at her, his manners taking a moment to kick in. Sakura blamed it on the fact it should have been Naruto in her place. She tried her best not to look like she was going to kill someone, not that it would help much.

"Aa, good afternoon, Sakura-san," Itachi said after a moment. "What brings you here today?"

Sakura gave him a blank look, and held up her end of the leash. "I have a gift for Shusui." She deadpanned. Her and Shisui had run-ins in the past, usually revolving around bad bets and dares between him and her boys. Somehow, she always seemed to end up running into Itachi during the ones that ended terribly.

If she was being fair, they all ended terribly.

Itachi invited her in, and went to fetch his cousin. Sakura did not intend to stay, but still took off her boots at the door. She unclasped the leash, and let the dog run. It was easy to locate Shisui after, as the dog had gone ahead and knocked him over in it's excitement.

"Oof- Daiki! Cut it out." The dog paused in it's attack to let Shisui sit up. Itachi only nodded in Sakura's direction, directing his cousin's attention to the girl.

"You." He glared at her. Itachi didn't look surprised at his cousin's actions. In fact, he was devoid of any apparent emotion on the subject.

"You." She glared right back, holding the leash out. "You left something with Naruto, and it destroyed my apartment."

"Really?" In a complete change of demeanor, Shisui's eyes were wide, and he looked far more excited about the prospect than he should have been. "Well, Itachi, looks like you win."

"Win?" Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Itachi bet that neither Sasuke nor Naruto would be returning my dog." He shrugged, getting up off the floor. "He was right."

"Oh." So that was how it was. Sakura narrowed her eyes. "I'd appreciate it if any bets in the future didn't involve the possible destruction of property." She applauded her ability to keep her voice level. Itachi raised an eyebrow, as if she presented a challenge.

"Duly noted." She nodded and headed back towards the door.

"Oi! Sakura." She paused to sit down and pull on her boots, waiting for Shisui to continue his thought. "Wanna make a bet?"

"Not particularly." She tied the laces, and stood. "Perhaps some other time," She promised, cutting off whatever Shisui was going to say. She left, with the thoughts of a clean apartment and a hot shower. Unfortunately for her, something warm and wet ran across her hand. Looking down, she found Daiki following her, and both Itachi and Shisui not far behind.

No. Just. She wasn't going to deal with this today. She already had two other knuckleheads to deal with. Tests to study for. A busy day at the hospital to unwind from.

"Are you sure?" Shisui asked again, with a whistle.

"Will it make you quit following me?" Sakura dug her heel into the gravel, refusing to look at them.

"Sure." He didn't sound very convincing. She banked on it anyway.

"What, then."

"I bet that..." He paused for a moment, trying to think of something good. She scoffed at him, and he went with the first one that came to mind. "That you won't be able to go a week without bitching to Sasuke. Winner picks prize."

She sighed. It was rather lackluster, and no where near Shisui's usual level. It would be an easy win.

"Deal."

If only Sakura had known what she was really getting into, she might not have agreed in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2 - Wednesday

A/N I kind of didn't realize that I hadn't even read through the first chapter before I posted the thing. So expect a rewrite.

* * *

At first, nothing strange happened. Sakura went on with her usual business. She bought takeout from a nice, local place down the street from her apartment. She came home to a relatively clean apartment, complete with a lamp Sakura was pretty sure started in Naruto's bedroom. Frog shaped lamps didn't really go with her decor, but she went with it. It would work until she found a new one.

She ate, the overly starchy and salty food tasting like heaven. She showered, and pretended not to notice that her expensive shampoo bottle was a lot heavier than it had been the night before. She dug one of Sasuke's old shirts out of a bottom drawer, and curled up in a blanket nest with the book on infectious diseases. Sakura studied. She fell asleep with her face in the book. Life was good, and she almost forgot that her day had been so damn terrible.

That was, until about four-thirty, when she was promptly jumped on. Sakura bolted up, knocking her head against a wall of fur. She was trapped in her own blanket burrito, completely disoriented. It was still dark outside, and she made the elective decision that it was too early for whatever her boys had planned. She laid back down and rolled over.

Eighty pounds of fur collapsed on her side. She groaned and forced her eyes open. Daiki was trying to shove his face under her hand. Sakura glanced at the clock. It was too damn early for anything close to this. She was not a morning person, not even by the most loose interpretation of the definition. It was bad enough she had a lecture in... in... three and a half hours. No. She rolled over and tried to ignore the metric shit ton of fur trying it's damnedest to get her attention, with only a passing thought of why Shisui's dog was in her house- again.

Daiki, however, must have been used to such attempts, because he was having none of it. The weight on her disappeared as the dog jumped off the side of her bed. She shrugged and buried her face deeper in the pillows- and then she was promptly on the floor. Sakura cursed, struggling to sit up. Shisui's dog had pulled _her blanket burrito_ off the bed, and taken her with it. Daiki, however, ignored Sakura's anger and decided it was the best time to demand attention. Sakura's rage evaporated as the dog planted his face right on her lap, and looked up at her.

Really, she loved animals. Dogs and cats and chinchillas especially. But it was _four fifty in the goddamned morning_. She relented, and scratched Daiki behind the ears. Sasuke _was_ going to hear about this. Once she figured out how in fucks name a dog had gotten into her apartment. She knew that she locked the door the night before, but only the dead bolt. Sakura never used the chain lock.

Wait. No. Sasuke could not be complained at about something that was, ultimately, his cousin's fault. She would lose the bet. Sakura hated losing. She groaned again, petting Daiki with a fury akin to the sun collapsing. He didn't seem to mind. Someone, somewhere, was going to be at the other end of her wrath that day. Somehow, she just knew it was going to be a long week.

It was five thirty when Sakura finally decided that she had had enough of the blanket burrito. It was hot and she was sweaty from being in the same position for too long. Daiki did not seem to mind getting shoved off, and instead headed towards what Sakura assumed was the living room. After hearing the click of his nails against hardwood suddenly stop, followed by the creaking of her couch, she knew she was right.

After a quick trip to the bathroom, Sakura stared at her closet. She did not feel like being functional today, but she had to be presentable. Jeans, she decided, were her best bet. All the pairs she owned were so worn that they had the consistency of yoga pants, anyway. In a faint attempt to make it professional, she decided go with a frilly shirt- and then on went one of Naruto's old pullovers.

Yep. Real professional. She pulled a comfy pair of flats out of her closet and stalked to the kitchen. Daiki was snoozing on the couch by this point, and Sakura had a very real thought while her coffee pot made all sorts of concerning noises.

What if... what if she just kept the bucket of fur. Shisui might not notice he was ever gone. Hell, Shisui probably _let the damned dog into her fucking apartment_ for all she knew. Sakura could get used to having a pet. And the best part?

No one would break into her apartment again.

Yes, she was very fond of the idea. At least, until her coffee pot beeped. She poured a large mug, and promptly smothered it in sugar and cream. Sipping on the beverage, she sat down at the tiny island and tried to get in some last minute studying.

* * *

Shisui was going to kill Itachi- and he wasn't kidding about it this time. Sure, the bet with Naruto had been his idea. And yea, he had gone ahead and made a bet with Itachi on the outcome.

But the thing with Sakura? Not his idea. Or, rather, it was his shitty idea that Itachi was destroying. Because he hadn't woken up on time to a familiar ball of fur demanding to go outside. No, Shisui had woken up two hours late to discover that his dog was fucking _missing._

Now, Shisui wouldn't normally panic about such a thing. He was calm. Cool. Collected. He was an Uchiha, masters of sassing one word answers, and staying calm. He simply decided that maybe Daiki had gotten out and gone to bother his cousin, once the boy had finished checking all the rooms in the house. He pulled on a sweatshirt against the morning chill, and pretended to be dignified when stomping next door in pink zebra print pajama pants.

Sasuke opened the door, and tried his best not to stare at his cousin in the way you would stare at someone who just grew a second head. Surely, he decided, there was a valid reason why his cousin owned such a thing, and why he hadn't changed before leaving the house. There just _had_ to be. Definitely. Naruto rubbed his eyes, standing directly behind Sasuke.

Neither one would admit that Naruto hadn't only crashed at the Uchiha household because of how late they had been up cleaning. His mother still hadn't forgiven the broken plates.

"'Mornin', Shisui. Nice pants." Sasuke was going to kill Naruto, if his cousin didn't kill them both first. Judging by Shisui's expression, someone was going to die by day's end.

"Is Daiki here?" Shisui tried to keep his temper in check, taking a deep breath. His pants were fucking awesome, and there was nothing anyone could do to tell him otherwise. Even if those, too, had been the result of a bad bet. They were too comfy to throw out, okay, and he'd stand by that choice. Even if they were fucking _pink._

"Uh..." That threw Sasuke for a loop. He really hoped that the dog wasn't there. His mother would be very disappointed, and no one ever wanted Mikoto to be disappointed. Ever.

"Not that we know of," Naruto confirmed. He leaned against the doorframe, waiting awkwardly for this encounter to be over. It wasn't that he didn't like Shisui, but he was still sore over the bet from the previous day. A week's worth of free ramen would have been _awesome_ , if Sakura hadn't ruined it.

"Itachi-nii isn't here, either," Sasuke said quickly. Shisui snapped his mouth shut, having already gotten the answer he needed. Before Shisui could even start another train of thought, Sasuke's phone beeped.

* * *

From: Sakura  
Timestamp: 8:45 AM  
Message: is your cousin around?

From: Sakura  
Timestamp: 8:46 AM  
Message: better yet gimme Shisui's number

To: Sakura  
Timestamp: 8:46 AM  
Message: why? contact:Shisui

From: Sakura  
Timestamp: 8:47 AM  
Message: reasons

* * *

Sasuke gave his phone a weird look. Shisui's phone beeped a moment later, and Sasuke just stared at him. Was there something going on that he didn't know about?

Shisui looked at his phone.

* * *

From: Unknown Number  
Timestamp: 8:47 AM  
Message body: you are missing a ball of fur

From: Unknown Number  
Timestamp: 8:48 AM  
Message body: and if you don't come get it. i am going to keep it

* * *

"I think I found him..." Shisui narrowed his gaze at his phone. Sauce thought maybe Itachi had sent him a dirty text about the state of the textbooks Shisui had given back yesterday. Honestly. Sakura couldn't have texted him that quickly.

Why did Sakura text him again?

"Is Itachi here?" Shisui ventured, putting selected pieces together, slowly. He still hadn't managed to get a cup of coffee in him, so gears were slow moving.

"He left early this morning." Sasuke elaborated, refusing to point out that he had already told him otherwise. "Said he had an errand to do."

Oh. So that's how it was. Shisui decided that he was definitely going to hate his cousin by the end of the week.


	3. Chapter 3 - Wednesday

A/N I promise, usually I'm better at this D: Also your reviews are awesome. I totally would have put this off otherwise. :D

* * *

Sakura showed up to Shizune's clinical practice course forty minutes early, and breathed a sigh of relief. Clutching her second? third? cup of coffee close, she flopped down on one of the campus benches. Maybe, just maybe, if she crammed up until the test, she'd be comfortable with the material.

Because, really, she wasn't an idiot. Sakura knew her shit- at least, most of the time. The problem was the fact she wasn't always entirely comfortable with it. She could tell you how the cardiovascular system worked, or the finer parts of neurological effects that certain substances had on the body. But when it came to putting that on paper, she short circuited. One word had a different definition, and explanations faltered, muddy and disconnected.

Her mentor had called it test anxiety, when Sakura and her had talked about it after a particularly frightful test. She said it was common. Sakura wasn't sure if Tsunade was right or not, but she did know one thing: she was getting better. That, in itself, was something she could be proud of.

Right then, she had her anatomy textbook open, reacquainting herself with mostly common basics. She was so lost in ligaments and muscular structures that she didn't even notice someone sit down right next to her. The stranger settled down, hand wrapped around a still steaming takeaway cup, and a leash in the other. She didn't even so much as twitch in acknowledgement- that was, until something licked her hand, again.

She really needed to stop getting into these situations. Sakura looked up to see Itachi petting a calm looking Daiki. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She remembered informing Shisui to go find his dog, via text- before letting him loose on the town. Sakura had felt bad about it for a moment- just a moment. So she'd called the local dog catcher- Kakashi, a friend of her late father's, and warned him. Kakashi had assured her that as long as the animal did not cause any trouble, he would overlook it.

"Good... morning?" She tried. Itachi and her had met before, of course, but they had never shared more than pleasantries. As Sasuke's friend, that's all she ever really needed to get by. There wasn't really a reason to say anything, but to not say anything seemed to come across as rude.

"Good morning." He agreed. There was silence. Sighing, Sakura ignored him and dove headfirst back into anatomy, only pausing to give Daiki attention when the dog specifically demanded it.

Yes. Shisui was going to lose his dog if it ever found its way back into her apartment. She was going to keep him. Forever.

Ino all but tackled her a few moments later, ignoring the fact that both a bench and Itachi's shoulder was in her way. Sakura huffed, used to the abuse. Itachi, on the other hand, was not used to being in the way of a blond on a rampage, and looked the part, complete with narrowly missing a definite coffee stain. Daiki jumped up and down, excited that there was someone new to demand attention from.

"Is that the dog that was in your apartment this morning?" She asked, giving the shepherd an affectionate pat.

"Yep." Sakura closed her book with a sigh. There would be no more studying now that Ino was here- the girl was far too attention-demanding in the morning. In that sense, Sakura thought, Daiki and Ino were alike. She kept from voicing that, however. Ino was Ino, and more than likely wouldn't take it the way it was meant.

"Did you ever figure out how it got in?" Ino flopped down on the grass, and Daiki settled to her right.

"Dunno," Sakura sighed again, fishing trail mix out of her bag. She offered some to Ino. "The door was locked."

Itachi coughed. Sakura pretended not to hear it.

"So did you adopt an Uchiha on the way to class with him or...?" To Sakura's surprise, Itachi's eyebrow only raised at the question. She pretended not to see that, either. In her opinion, Uchihas were generally irritating, and trying to guess their motives for anything was fucking impossible.

She would probably speculate later- and pretend she wasn't. It was just how that usually turned out.

"No, he appeared with the dog." She informed the blond. Ino leaned back against Sakura's legs. "I told Shisui to go find him and let him loose on the town." Ino shifted against her, struggling to keep from laughing. Sakura glanced at Itachi, whose expression was completely neutral.

Of course it fucking was. She rolled her eyes. Sakura knew EXACTLY who broke into her apartment that morning. Naruto had texted her a picture of Shisui's pajama pants, and it was his contact photo. No Uchiha on earth would be caught dead outside in those, unless it was an emergency. How, well, that was an issue for another time.

"Okay, but seriously." Ino scratched behind the dog's ear. "How did he get into your apartment. It's on the _second_ floor."

"Probably started on the stairs," Sakura deadpanned, shoving her book into her bag. Class started in less than three minutes, technically. She hadn't realized that Shizune had already unlocked the door, her arms laden with papers. A familiar pit sprung up in her gut, and Sakura tried not to think about it.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Sakura could almost hear Ino roll her eyes. "But really, do you still keep your spare key under the obvious brick?"

"It's not a brick! It's a slug." Sakura huffed. Ino laughed, a welcome sound.

"So that's a yes. Maybe you should find a new hiding place." She offered, getting to her feet. Nodding to Itachi, Ino grabbed her friend's hand and dragged her towards the classroom.

"Probably." Sakura agreed, getting to her feet.

"Now, let's talk about this test." Sakura paled, and completely forgot about Itachi until she realized that Daiki had followed them to Shizune's classroom, and laid down by her desk. Sakura, looked down, and rolled her eyes. She made no move to get the dog to leave, nor anything that would draw attention. Maybe, just maybe, no one would notice.

Shizune only raised an eyebrow on her way around with the test. Ino shrugged, and Sakura said not to ask, it was a long story. The dog stayed, under the conditions that it behaved and no one else objected to it. The remainder of the class didn't care.

Somehow, Sakura was a little more at ease. Her pen scratched across the paper with no hesitation- she had this! She was going to keep this dog, the Uchihas be damned. A trip to the store would definitely be an order, though.


	4. Chapter 4 - Wednesday

A/N I wrote this far too early, and I've totally been holding onto it all week because I didn't want to fuck with my update schedule ;-; But the reviews are awesome, and probably the only reason this chapter started off with Itachi. Because, well, why not.

Slightly relevant: I have had a terrible week, so you lovely people still get this like two? days early.

Edit: Why does this formatting kill me so damned much.

* * *

Itachi just sat on the bench for several moments after both girls left, almost in a daze. He was an Uchiha- no one ignored him or forgot about him. It just wasn't done. She had done it anyway.

His plan was not going as planned. Itachi did not understand his brother's friend. Not a thing about her was normal- from her _natural_ pastel pink hair down to how she didn't fall all over an Uchiha- any of them. Itachi was pretty sure Sasuke had been pushed out of a window a time or two by the girl, who was a hell of a lot smaller and more petite than his brother. That just- it wasn't _natural._ Something must be done.

He stood up, and decided to hit the market on his way home. Tomatoes were an order, he decided, as it was usually the best (and cleanest) method of getting information from Sasuke when his blond not-boyfriend wasn't around. And quite honestly, if he wanted to have a fighting chance with wrecking Shisui's bet, he was going to need some information.

(The jury was still out on whether or not his brother had a thing for the blond. The entire family was convinced that Naruto wouldn't notice a thing even if it hit him in the same way a bus might. There was no agreement on what the youngest Uchiha saw in Naruto, but Shisui had put a bet on that one, as well. Really, Itachi was just rooting for his brother to get over the rather bad breakup between him and the young Hyuga girl.)

* * *

Shisui had covered the entire town _twice._ And, for the record, it wasn't like Konoha was anywhere close to tiny, either. He'd checked with the pound, the dog catcher, the police department and the ER. Hell, he even checked with the fucking _fire department_. No one had heard or seen a missing dog.

Shisui had given up, checking alleyways and the parks now. So far, he'd found more stray cats than he could count, and a larger fair of rats. He was not particular to rats, and gave them a wide berth.

He had no leads on where his beloved Daiki was. Or, at least, he didn't until his eyes found one Itachi Uchiha headed towards the compound. The younger Uchiha looked to be on his way home from the market, with a brown bag filled with various groceries. That part wasn't unusual- however, the leash Itachi had oh-so-thoughtlessly draped around his neck made Shisui's blood _boil._

He stomped over to his cousin, in a show equivalent to a three year old's temper. Shisui had had a day from hell, and his cousin was to blame. He should have known. Shisui grabbed the leash and yanked.

"What. The. Fuck. Itachi." He grounded out, fuming. Itachi did not miss the way Shisui carefully wrapped the leash around his fist. "Where is my dog."

"With Sakura." His expression was neutral, and Shisui almost damned his heritage. What was it with his fucking family and emotional vulnerability. He sighed, giving up.

"She let him loose on the town this morning." It wasn't a question, but Shisui huffed anyway. They continued back towards the Uchiha compound. He didn't know what his cousin was up to, but Shisui had neglected to eat in favor of bothering everyone in town. He was looking forward to the prospect of Minako's onigiri. His aunt was probably his favorite cook, and she always made onigiri on Tuesdays.

"I found him on my morning run." Itachi explained, shifting the bag and flexing his hand to keep his fingers from falling asleep. "He's gone and played in the pond near the hospital."

Their conversation continued, all the way back to Itachi's home. They found Minako in the backyard, seated on the wooden walkway with a cup of warm tea. She greeted them with a smile, and invited them into the kitchen to help with dinner.

* * *

After her class ended, Sakura and Ino decided to get something to eat. Or rather, Ino decided she was hungry and Sakura just shrugged and followed. Daiki kept with them, even without a leash. She would have to get him one, Sakura realized. A few words to Ino had her easily convinced to do senbei and then drop by the store for a mainly dog related list.

Sakura did the math in her head, vaguely trying to budget the rest of her paycheck to see if she could afford it. The hospital paid pretty well, but the problem was how often she got paid, and that was usually every other week. Sure, the tutoring she did on the side helped, but even then, university classes got expensive quickly. She decided she would be okay, but didn't complain when Ino offered to buy lunch.

They stopped by Uchiha Senbei, which was really the only good choice in Konoha. Sure, it was run by relations of the same man she was stealing a dog from, but both Teyaki and Uruchi Uchiha were, in her opinion, very nice people. It was actually Sasuke's fault that she even knew about the tiny shop nestled on the outer corner of the Uchiha compound, though it had definitely gained in popularity in the past few years.

Uruchi packed both tiny bags with senbei wrapped in nori, smiling as she worked. Teyaki was in the back, cooking another batch, but still took a moment to give Daiki a scrap from the previous batch. Even though it was slightly scorched, Daiki ate it with vigor and barked, tail wagging. Ino paid, and they were on their way.

Snacking on the salty-sweet goodness, the girls dropped by Sakura's apartment long enough to ditch their bags. Sakura made it a point to fish out an old bowl, and filled it with water for the dog. It had been far too hot that day, that even Sakura's loose collar clung to her neck. Since classes were over, Sakura loaned her friend a pair of shorts, and then went to change herself.

A sundress was easier to move in, she decided, and grabbed her favorite green one. Sakura refilled the bowl for Daiki upon returning to the kitchen, and moved her wallet from her bookbag to her purse. Ino came bouncing out of the bathroom, her hair slicked back into a high ponytail and seemingly excited about the simple flower printed shorts that managed to match her shirt.

With a second thought, Sakura dug the leash Daiki had worn that morning out of the junk drawer, and threw that in her bag just in case. Her phone beeped, and she moved to check it, letting Ino access the fridge with ease. The blond snagged a cold bottle of water.

* * *

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 3:41pm  
Message Body: Why is my cousin bitching about you to my mother?

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 3:43pm  
Message Body: Did you really steal his dog?

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 3:45pm  
Message Body: Ita-nii came home with tomatoes.

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 3:53pm  
Message Body: SAKURA, TEXT ME BACK.

* * *

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:49pm  
Message Body: Shisui is bitching about his missing dog

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:51pm  
Message Body: IF YOU WERE GOING TO STEAL THE DOG, WHY'D YOU KICK ME OUT.

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:52pm  
Message Body: I COULD HAVE HAD FREE RAMEN FOR A WEEK.

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:54pm  
Message Body: A WEEK, SAKURA.

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:59pm  
Message Body: Why must you crush my hopes ;-;

* * *

To: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 4:13pm  
Message Body: you're so needy

To: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 4:14pm  
Message Body: i am not responsible for what your cousin does.

To: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 4:15pm  
Message Body: i cannot steal something that stalks me home. or to class.

To: Shisui  
Timestamp: 4:17pm  
Message Body: i thought you were serious about bets

To: Shisui  
Timestamp: 4:17pm  
Message Body: from what i'm hearing, you're terrible at them.

* * *

Sakura set her phone to vibrate and shoved it into her purse before letting Ino drag her out of her apartment. Daiki followed the two of them. Both the girls ignored the strange look from neighbors, who were unused to a large shepherd on the shared staircase. They cut through the Nara Clan's district, headed straight for the shopping district.

It would be a long day, but by the end of it, Sakura would have the supplies for Daiki. And that was pretty important. She made a mental note to talk to her landlady about whether or not she'd be able to keep the dog, but for now, she let herself get lost in the excitement of possibility.


	5. Chapter 5 - Thursday

A/N I finally figured out FF formatting 8D

in other news, this has been written for like a week. i have no idea where the plot is going. enjoy.

* * *

Sakura popped her neck, and waited for the dryer to beep for the last time. She wasn't entirely fond of having to pay for laundry, especially since it was located in the basement. The washer and dryer were an older set, and showed the years of abuse through scratches and scrapes and uneven paint coloring. She could see where the little boy on the third floor had drawn a tiny smiley face in the corner, and she remembered hearing his mother scold him all the way back to that third floor when she had come down to swap over her load several months before.

Tonight it was empty. Usually, the little old lady from the first floor would brace the stairs to do her weekly laundry, but Sakura knew that her daughter had done so during the weekend. They had exchanged words on the stairs, and Sakura didn't miss the sad look in her eyes. She jumped up onto the second washing set and kicked her legs impatiently.

The basement of her building was normally pretty empty. Tenant's storage, the building's maintenance office, and the laundry room was the only things on the floor. As such, the inevitable sound of the dryer wouldn't be too disturbing to the tenants. Sakura waited to hear it.

Once it signaled, she jumped off the washer and popped open the dryer door before the second beep. Really, she hated the god awful noise. She pulled the last of her laundry out and gracelessly shoved it into the basket. Situating the basket against her hip, she grabbed her bottle of detergent with the other and headed back upstairs.

Sakura had left the apartment door cracked before she left, in case Daiki decided he wanted to come downstairs as well. She had left the shepherd with a rather mangled sock, which he had been in the process of trying to shred.

She climbed the steps two at a time- and nearly fell right back down again when someone set off an airhorn at the very top. She suffocated a scream, tripping over the top step and falling over her laundry basket, the already flimsy material giving under her weight. She landed hard, her wrist taking the brute of the weight.

Taking a deep breath, she rolled off the remains of her basket. Sakura could see Shisui out of the corner of her eye, or at least, she assumed it was him. Right then, she was more concerned about the barrel of fur running down the concrete steps, and whether or not she would be able to move her wrist easily. She grit her teeth as she rotated her wrist to each side. It would definitely need ice, at the minimum. Daiki ran up to her, checking to see if she was okay.

Sakura pet him with her good hand, and cradled her bad on against her chest. Shisui came forward, the airhorn shoved into his back pocket. At the angle he stood, it was hard not to notice the offending can. She glared up at him, and Daiki picked up one of the socks in Sakura's discarded laundry. She was slowly beginning to realize that her clothing was still all over dirty cement. That included her white bikini panties, complete with pastel poka dots smothered in lace- which were right under Shisui's muddy boot. Sakura sighed heavily.

"Get your boot off my clothes." She snapped, moving to gather her clothing. Daiki assumed he was being helpful, she guessed, because he would take a sock, and run up the stairs with it. And then run right back down to get another one and repeat the process. The rest of the laundry was brought back down to the basement is small armfuls, and dumped back in the washer. It took her three trips.

Shisui was at the top of the stairs for each, with his stupid boot on her fucking panties. On her last trip, she picked up her heavy sweatshirt with her one good hand, and aimed a kick to his shin. The Uchiha, a true testament to his clan, did not make a noise until she kicked him a second time.

"Sonofabitch, what the fuck is wrong with you." He glared, backing up with a very obvious limp. Sakura rescued her panties, and hoped the mud wouldn't stain.

"I am not the one setting off a fucking air horn at the tops of staircases." She seethed, and went right back down the stairs. Getting the top off the detergent proved to be a hassle, but Sakura finally got it one handed and slammed the lid closed. She shoved her hand in her back pocket and produced just enough change to pay for the load. Setting the water to cold/cold, she punched the start button and headed back upstairs with her detergent bottle in tow.

This time, Shisui was glaring at her. The air horn wasn't visible, but Sakura didn't trust him more than she could throw him- and right now, she couldn't throw him at all. Utilizing the next best option, she ignored him and headed up the next set of stairs. Daiki was on the landing above them, wagging his tail. When he saw her, he barked and then headed back to the apartment.

When Sakura gets back up the stairs, the first order of business is to shut her door, and lock it for good measure. She doesn't care if he followed her. No, instead she focuses on digging a bag of frozen veggies out of her freezer for her wrist. Armed with that and a warm bundle of fur following her every move, she flopped down on the couch, and reached for her phone.

There was banging on her door, and muffled curses about dog-napping. Sakura unlocked the screen. Daiki rested his head against the exposed parts of her fingers, and settled for the slight twitching of her fingers against his fur.

* * *

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:13pm  
Message Body: SAKURA-CHAN

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:13pm  
Message Body: I CAN STEAL TOASTERS

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:15pm  
Message Body: I SHOULD PROBABLY MENTION THIS IS A GAME

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:16pm  
Message Body: BUT TOASTERS

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:16pm  
Message Body: AND THERE IS NO REASON FOR IT

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 3:17pm  
Message Body: BUT I CAN.

* * *

The banging had become louder. Shisui was yelling. She didn't care, Sakura realized. Her wrist fucking hurt, and what kind of jackass would be setting off air horns on unsuspecting victims. Really. He could have given the usual little old lady a heart attack.

Sakura reached forward and found the stereo remote. Hitting the power button, she leaned back as music flooded the apartment. If she tried, Sakura could pretend that Shisui wasn't outside her apartment, bitching about how she had stolen his dog loud enough for the entire building to hear.

Daiki got up long enough to start bringing her socks. Sakura smiled a little, and paired them. Sure, she was going to have to wash them again. But pairing them for now gave her something to do.

The banging didn't stop. She picked back up her phone.

* * *

To: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 4:30pm  
Message Body: How many toasters have you stolen?

To: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 4:31pm  
Message Body: Ita's number. Give me. It's important.

To: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 4:31pm  
Message Body: That sounded incredibly stalkerish.

To: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 4:32pm  
Message Body: Imma make up for it

To: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 4:32pm  
Message Body: Naruto has discovered New Vegas and is stealing toasters

* * *

From: #1 Hellraising Blond  
Timestamp: 4:35pm  
Message Body: I PLEAD THE FIFTH.

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 4:39pm  
Message Body: Contact:Nii-san

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 4:40pm  
Message Body: What's with you and numbers recently

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 4:40pm  
Message Body: Toasters don't help, try again.

* * *

Sakura sat there for several minutes, trying figure out exactly how she was going to phrase texts to the quietest Uchiha she'd come across. Her phone pinged a couple times in between, and Sakura ignored them, assuming it was Sasuke. He was still trying to figure out what was going on and Sakura was not one to lose a bet.

She was probably going to get cited for a noise violation if Shisui continued, though. Gritting her teeth, Sakura unlocked her phone again.

* * *

To: Ita-san  
Timestamp: 4:45pm  
Message Body: Come get your cousin before he breaks my door -Sakura

To: Ita-san  
Timestamp: 4:45pm  
Message Body: And bring back my spare key.

To: Ita-san  
Timestamp: 4:45pm  
Message Body: You can explain to him that I'm not giving the dog back

To: Ita-san  
Timestamp: 4:45pm  
Message Body: Maybe you shouldn't steal other people's pets.

* * *

That last part might have been overkill, but Sakura clicked off her phone before she could be graced with a response. Sighing, she stood up. Daiki followed her to the kitchen, where she filled his food dish. Once that was done, Sakura shuffled to her bedroom and grabbed her change jar, fully intent on counting out just the right amount of coin needed to dry the load of laundry.

* * *

She didn't wake up until much later, when the sky was dark and everything was silent. Daiki had curled up beside her, and there was imprints where she had rolled over onto spare change. Her phone was going off in the other room, a faint musical tone notifying her of something. It sounded vaguely like a voicemail. She didn't care.

Right. She realized. Laundry. Huffing, Sakura rolled off the bed with a groan. The veggies had long since began to thaw, and she quickly threw the bag back into the freezer. Sakura spent a few moments digging a mesh laundry bag out of the recesses of her closet, not even remembering the last time it was used, and tossed it onto the couch. She looped back for the right amount of change, and to scratch behind Daiki's ears while he sprawled out on the newly released room on her bed.

She unlocked the door, glancing behind her at the clock. It flashed 2pm, and Sakura rolled her eyes. They probably lost power temporarily again. She glanced forward, and narrowly avoided stepping into a basket of clean laundry.

A basket. Sakura remembered crushing hers, and how it was a pale purple. This one was definitely blue, and definitely not hers. But the clothes were folded neatly, without so much as a wrinkle. Her house key was directly on top of the pile.

Who in fuck's name. Sakura didn't know. She picked up the basket and took it inside. Only after all the clothes had been put away did she return, to place the key under the mat this time.

* * *

From: Shisui  
Timestamp: 6:20pm  
Message Body: I have been told that air horns are too much

From: Shisui  
Timestamp: 6:42pm  
Message Body: Give me my dog back

From: Shisui  
Timestamp: 6:43pm  
Message Body: I will forfeit the bet if you do

From: Shisui  
Timestamp: 6:45pm  
Message Body: Itachi's a jackass and broke into your apartment to begin with

From: Shisui  
Timestamp: 7:13pm  
Message Body: ...Please.

* * *

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 7:20pm  
Message Body: If I ask, will you tell me what's going on with you and my cousin

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 7:21pm  
Message Body: And my brother

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 7:22pm  
Message Body: And exactly how they know you own poka dotted panties.

From: Heartthrob Sauce-kun  
Timestamp: 7:32pm  
Message Body: Seriously. How do they know the contents of your lingerie drawer.

* * *

From: Ita-san  
Timestamp: 8:20pm  
Message Body: My apologies.


	6. Chapter 6 - Friday

I'm backkkkk. I did Flash Fiction Month and it murdered me.

Also I know how I said I didn't know what I was doing with this. I meant that the story is writing itself as I go, not that I didn't know which pairing to go with- if there's even going to be a pairing. Please don't suggest one.

* * *

Sakura hadn't texted him back. It had been hours.

She didn't have to. She could have just opened her front door and let the dog run off to kami knew where. She could have done a million different unsavory things. Instead, Sasuke had confirmed that the girl had bought supplies for _his_ dog.

His cousin did not name the source. Shisui didn't know who he had talked to, maybe one of her neighbors? Itachi had a knowing smirk that made him want to harm his cousin for no reason, but to vent his frustration with the whole situation.

It was its his fault, after all. He had started this whole fucking mess.

Shisui checked his phone for the fifth or sixth time that meal, he had lost track. It was only him and his cousins and the blond that might as well have been Sasuke's boyfriend. Shisui might have known they were still PG only, but the way they acted around each other... Well. Something was there. Somewhere.

Sasuke put his rice bowl down, rather loudly. Shisui didn't know if it was because of his thought process? Sure, Uchiha couldn't read minds, but they could read micro expressions and at this point he would have to be dumber than a box of rocks to assume that he didn't have a novel pasted directly on his forehead.

Itachi didn't do anything. Not a fucking thing. Shisui was starting to wonder why, exactly, Itachi was his favorite out of his two oh so beloved cousins.

Really.

They were both assholes.

Sasuke gaze narrowed, and Shisui mentally prepared for the worst.

* * *

Sakura's alarm went off at precisely three am sharp. She clicked it off right before the second ring, and laid back in bed for a few more moments. If she was to be honest at all, Sakura had been up for quite awhile.

She sat up, displacing Daiki in the process. Where the fairly heavy ball of fluff had been before, with his head comfortably perched on Sakura's stomach and face first in dreamland, was pulled suddenly from both. He made an unhappy grumbling sound, and Sakura felt bad. She pet him, until he flopped back down on the still warm comforter and promptly ignored her in favor of whatever dreamland had to offer.

She headed directly to the shower. Cold, long and with a mission. The girl worked knots and tension from every joint, turning the water up every so often until the mirror fogged, the moisture ran down the glass, and her skin matched the color of her hair. She wrapped a faded red towel around her, and popped the door open.

Unlike most mornings, where she would look fruitlessly before finding the instant coffee in exactly the last place she left it, Sakura pinned the towel properly and began to take apart her fully functioning coffee pot. It had been a gift from Sasuke when she had started her rounds with Tsunade. He had claimed that she would need it more than he did, and Sakura pretended not to notice the receipt at the bottom of the bag with his credit card information on it.

It was an unspoken arrangement between the two of them. She would not take labeled handouts, and he would continue to have access to her apartment whenever clan duties became too much. In recent years, clan duties had become the bulk of what Sasuke faced, and between Naruto and her, they did their best to keep him in one piece. Naruto, of course, benefited from free food. That boy couldn't cook anything that did not require a heated kettle and to wait three minutes before inhaling the labeled, sodium filled, glorified cardboard he absolutely loved. Even Naruto could not survive off of ramen for every single meal- not to say he hadn't tried a time or two.

Sakura smiled vaguely at the memory of one dumb ass blond, complaining about his favorite food and how he was tired of it. Sasuke and her had gotten out of ramen for a week. One single, glorious week. Filled with dango and rice balls filled with tuna and sometimes, if there was a clan meeting that night, Sakura would make a couple filled with tomatoes for the road.

Sasuke learned out how to smile that week, she recalled. He also learned how to make rice balls himself. While Mikoto was okay with making everything always, Sakura's mother was having none of it. In the week that the pair had camped out on Sakura's bedroom floor, Mebuki had strongly suggested that the boys help prepare the dinner that they would share with everyone else.

(Sasuke would say it was his duty. Naruto would mumble something along the lines of how scary her mother was. Sakura would concentrate on the potatoes she was peeling, and try not to let her boys see her grin. )

She cleared the old filter and coffee grinds out, rinsing the holder for good measure. One filter, and back into the machine it went. Sakura opened the cabinet, and pulled a small bag of actual coffee grounds out. Three table spoons, and she could fill it with water, hit a button and wait.

Sakura could not sit still. Her hair was still damp, dripping all over the nice wood floor. She didn't feel like drying off yet, or even getting dressed. Instead, she tackled the rice cooker next. It had been days since the last time she had made rice, and honestly, the routine was something nice.

Once it had been cleaned out, and she had finished rinsing the rice, Sakura resigned herself to the fact she would actually need to be wearing something when her boys showed up.

And they were definitely going to show up. She dropped the pot back into the rice cooker, plugged it in, and hit the start button. Her coffee pot wasn't even half full yet, so she went to dress without the glory of caffeine to aid her.

Jeans that had seen better days. Sasuke's old clan shirt, with the faded fan emblem on the back and the comforting knowledge that he couldn't fit into it because their mutual blond idiot did not know what was allowed in a dryer and what needed to hang to dry. The shirt was still a bit big on her, but it was comfortable and that was all that mattered. Sakura frowned at the split ends in her hair, and tossed it up in a messy bun for good measure.

Then: coffee, glorious black coffee with enough sugar to send someone into a diabetic coma. She sipped at her coffee for a moment, enjoying both it and the light peeking through her windows. Sakura checked her phone, purely to send a new email to Tsunade. She ignored the outstanding text messages.

There was a knock on her door. She ignored it. Instead, Sakura took an old dust cloth and began wiping down the shine in the corner.

The person kept knocking. Sakura reasoned that anyone important would have a key. Sasuke, Naruto and Ino all had keys. Colored ones, so they wouldn't lose it. And if Naruto lost Sasuke's key again, they knew where the spare one was at.

(Naruto always left the key to her apartment at his apartment, and Sasuke didn't like things in his pockets to make noise. Therefore, Naruto got to carry Sakura's key whenever they were together. And really, Sasuke and Naruto were never not together.)

Sakura set the picture frame down, and smiled fondly at her parents faces. It had been too long since her home actually felt warm and full of life, comforting.

The stranger didn't stop banging on her door. Sakura rocked back on her heels, and headed towards the door the same time Daiki finally emerged from the bedroom. The shepherd rubbed up against Sakura's leg much like a cat would, and followed her to the door.

She unbolted the chain lock, and yanked the door open.

And, of course, both Shisui and Itachi were standing outside her door, with Sasuke and Naruto leaning against the adjacent wall.


End file.
